Monday, December 14, 2015

UPDATE: $1 Million Bail In Wrigleyville Shoot-Out

Ralph Banks, 19, is charged with one felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Banks was paroled on October 6th after serving six months of an 18-month sentence for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, state records show. He had been charged with aggravated use of a loaded firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of ammunition, two counts of resisting police, and one count of reckless conduct in connection with an incident in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, according to Chicago police records.

21 comments:

The ISP implemented daily criminal and mental health background checks prior to 2008. It's a felony to buy/sell a handgun as/to an out of state resident. Yet this kid had no issue getting a handgun. AUUW isn't a little crime. When Illinois starts making violent offenders serve 100% of the sentence, instead of 30%, a lot of this will stop.

Not true about a FdL selling a handgun to an out-of-stater. A handgun can be purchased in a neighboring state. An Illinois resident can go to Iowa to purchase a handgun but could not make that same purchase in, say, Minnesota.

An Illinois resident can NOT purchase a handgun from a licensed firearms dealer in Iowa, only long guns. The handgun would need to be sent to and processed through a FFL dealer in Illinois. Even Iowa residents need a permit to purchase a handgun in Iowa and non-residents can not get these permits.

It doesn't really matter in this case since this thug did not go to an out of state (or in state) federal firearms dealer. Like others he bought them off the street. And you have to be at least 21 to purchase a handgun in Iowa or Illinois, this thug is only 19.

I am the O.P. of the 9:38 post. I am corrected. I apologize for potentially leading anyone astray. I would not be purchasing a firearm out of state anyway and if I did I would facilitate all the proper shipping to my preferred ffl. This is why it is good to have these discussions. Defend yourself and carry on.

Tom Tunney is right again. This is an isolated incident. Although there have been other gang-related gun battles in the 019th --including one near Montrose beach, one near the Waveland softball fields, one just south of the mayor's house and another just across Irving Park Road from Lake View High School, there has never ever been one on this block before. At least not as big as this one. So....isolated incident. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Well the good news is with all those bullets flying more people not hurt. Will we be so lucky next time? Maybe the cops could have gotten the others, but we probably spent the OT budget keeping the overgrown college kids from TBOX from causing harm to themselves and others in their holiday inspired drunken stupors.

• The median prison sentence given for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon was one year.

• The median sentence for the more serious charge of aggravated UUW by a felon was four years in prison.

New York, by comparison, has a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 3 1/2 years for simple gun possession.

Emanuel pushed hard last year for the Illinois General Assembly to boost the minimum sentences for gun possession and to require anyone convicted to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence.

But the legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, failed in the face of opposition from African-American legislators and the National Rifle Association.

No Longer Quoting/My Opinion:These sentences are obscenely low, and need to be readdressed. Call your State Rep and advocate for stiffer sentences for illegal gun possession, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and aggravated UUW by a felon (repeat offender). Note your support for reducing mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenders as a bargaining chip to those opposed in order to get this passed.

We need to get tough on VIOLENT crime. This has nothing to do with the 2nd amendment or legal gun ownership. This is about locking up the shooters and gang-bangers with illegal guns that we catch.

Your State House Reps represent only ~100k people each (about 2x what an alderman does). Elections are every 2 years and only ~25k people vote. They will respond if you email or call in a polite way. You CAN do something. Call today.

To lock them up, you have to have a place to lock them up. You ready to spend more taxes for prisons? It really doesn't make a difference. Until prisons become places to be feared, instead of family reunions, nothing will change.Make prisoners work! Cold in the winter and hot in the summer! And never ending hard work!When inmates get out of prison and fear going back and they spread that fear, then things will start to change.